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  Dan Frazer Gardening September 11, 2012 at 6:52am

  Tarp over the pool! Surely the pool has a cover hidden away somewhere?
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  Chris Auld September 11, 2012 at 7:27am

  wait until the middle of winter when the pond has frozen over then just walk over it and brush it up as normal ;), or you could just use a tarpaulin as Dan suggests.
• PRO

  Phil Voice September 11, 2012 at 9:24am

  Agree with others. A tarpaulin has to be the simplest way to catch the clippings but there is another health and safety issue here.

  Obviously 2 feet (60cm) is a narrow space, and five metres is quite high so you would have to do a risk assessment. 

  I suspect the budget won't allow it but talk to a scaffolding company and ask them for a price to build a temporary platform/deck to extend your working area to at least 200cm. That way you can use something like a tripod ladder of Henchman platform to safely position the legs and give you a bit of wiggle room for manoeuvre.

  It's worth talking to your client and explain that you have a duty of care and a responsibility to work safely. If they don't want to spend the money to effectively protect you then I would politely decline.

  If you have to proceed without building a structure be sure to define the edge properly though otherwise you might be tempted to stand too close to the edge and fall in.
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  Paul McNulty September 11, 2012 at 1:41pm

  I'd be worried about falling in as well; how can you get to the height and do a proper job without a bit more safe ground to get a ladder or platform on?
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  Austin Powell-Allen September 11, 2012 at 5:50pm

  I had a simular job a few years back for a rental property lucky only 3m high just go careful the tops the tricky bit so if you can gain access to both sides this would be a plus.

  Alot of pools have a built in cover just ask the owner to close this any that fall on the cover can be swept to one side with a broom and picked up.

  
  Its funny the number of properties I go to where customers have no idea of grow size of trees. Remember the saying "Right Plant Wrong Place" and here is a perfect example. I have re-felted a few sheds and alot of the time the house holder has only given you 15cm to hammer in the nails between the neighbours house and the shed roof. WHY??? Still I know why they call me in now!
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  Paul Rogers September 16, 2012 at 11:47pm

  Thanks for the comments, all heplful as usual. The customers inherited the pool when they moved in and all they have as a cover is what looks like blue bubble wrap laying on the surface attached to a roller to remove it. They have a toddler and will be replacing the cover with something more substantial which I may actually be able to walk on.

  The conifer is planted in a raised bed which is up against a wall boundary, should I be concerned about any possible root problems?
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  Ian Asplen September 19, 2012 at 10:35am

  I agree with the other guys on this, just for safety reasons a good sheet of tarpaulin over the pool is the best idea. Although swimming pools should come with a cover anyway? 
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  Andrew Knight September 19, 2012 at 5:15pm

  I have one site with exactly the same problem, the conifer right alongside the steps down into the pool! The client lets me cut it and I remove the large bits from the pool, the smaller bits sink and are picked up by the pool vacuum sweeper.

  The blue bubble cover attached to the roller is a "summer one", to keep leaves off ect. There should be somewhere lurking about the "winter cover" a shaped tarpaulin which is held in place round the pool by nasty springs and pins which plug into the concrete, very easy to trip over, you could always pop this on "with a bit of help" and secured it before you start cutting the hedge. You wont be able to walk on it though.

  Because this conifer is in a round bed in the concrete, the roots have damaged the surrounding surface so much so that the crazy paving has raised at dangerous angles and the whole thing really needs removing and the concrete reinstated, a major job.
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  Benjamin O'Neill September 25, 2012 at 3:33pm

  This picture came to mind =] especially if i carries on raining =]

  

   
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  Colin Hunt September 25, 2012 at 5:09pm

  I'd forgotten about those until we took over a garden last year which had one of those winter covers........every week, every damn week one of us manage to trip over either a pin or spring!! Do we learn? Nope!
  
  Andrew Knight said:

  The blue bubble cover attached to the roller is a "summer one", to keep leaves off ect. There should be somewhere lurking about the "winter cover" a shaped tarpaulin which is held in place round the pool by nasty springs and pins which plug into the concrete, very easy to trip over, you could always pop this on "with a bit of help" and secured it before you start cutting the hedge. You wont be able to walk on it though.